Laws on Hunting
I read this front page article in the Courier on Monday and just wondered what other bloggers thought about the article. Hunting preserves in foes' crosshairs
As most of you know, I am a deer hunter and enjoy that season a lot. This article brings up mixed emotions for many and I was just curious about how other hunters and non-hunters view these types of hunts.
Here is some basic information on Whitetail deer:
As most of you know, I am a deer hunter and enjoy that season a lot. This article brings up mixed emotions for many and I was just curious about how other hunters and non-hunters view these types of hunts.
Here is some basic information on Whitetail deer:
Mating: Polygamous
Peak Breeding Activity: Early to mid-November; begins as early as mid-October and runs through mid-January
Gestation: 187-222 days; average 200 days
Young are Born: Mid-May through July; peak in late May through mid-June
Litter Size: 1 in first year; 2 and sometimes 3 in later years
Young Leave Parents: Weaned at 10-12 weeks
Number of Litters per Year: 1
Adult Weight: Males-130-300 pounds; females-90-210 pounds
Adult Body Length: 52-95 inches
Life Expectancy: Up to 15 years, but the average is 2 years for males and 3 years for females in the wild
Migration Pattern: Year-round resident; home range is 1/2 -2 square miles
Typical Foods: Include wild crabapple, corn, sumac leaves and stems, grasses, clover leaves, jewelweed leaves, acorns, and dogwood fruits and stems
As can be seen, the life expectancy in the wild is only a few years. Deer in captivity or in these hunting compounds actually have the potential to live a much easier life because of the food sources being readily available.
What are the reader’s thoughts?
posted by Anonymous at 5:50 AM
5 Comments:
Most hunters I know are responsible people who truly want to see the game they hunt persevere as a species. I know the money I spend on licenses and other voluntary expenses support habitat and other conservation efforts. Hunting gets a much undeserved “bad rap” by many who do not understand it.
I have a youngster who will be able to join me this fall and I can’t wait to take her. Some of the best memories I have are the hunts my dad took me on when I was young. We spent hours of quality time together, learned strategy, safety and responsibility. We also saw some beautiful country together.
Hunting is a great tradition and I am looking forward to passing it along to my kids.
Hunting compounds sound very similar to houses of ill repute.
I'll feed you, house you, take care of you and all you have to do is...
Having been an addicted waterfowler for over 20 years (just "retired" 2005-06 season), I had went to a preserve hunt once, and I was actually about sickened by it.
Sure, we were provided with upland game dogs, a friendly guide, warm coffee.
But I was actually appalled at the fact that the pheasants and quail we were "hunting" we just released from cages just a little while before we hit the fields, after being captively raised, fed and hence could not have developed the full natural fear of humans.
It felt cheap, it felt like cheating, it felt wrong.
Hunting for us growing up was about family, standing waist deep in half frozen lake water and mud, hardly working boat motors, hunting dogs that were too busy chewing on a stick to fetch a downed duck. But we had a great time, and NEVER took any more than we could ever use ourselves, and we also learned to tie fishing flies from the feathers of the ducks we downed, so that pretty much all of the animal was used.
Robotic decoys, chemical lures, infra-red blood tracking units, GPS positioning, self tuning acryllic calls, rangefinding scopes and binoculars.....
I will come out of retirement when the days come back when it is me, a good dog, a handful of cork duck decoys and my 40 year old smith and wesson pump 12 guage, and a wooden call
I have mixed feelings about these type of hunts. I too have been on a pheasant hunt similar to the one described and will not do it again.
There is a certain "cheat factor" to the hunts and it is not something I particularly would choose to do, but if others want to pay for the service, I am not sure it should be outlawed
I too do not think it should be "outlawed", however, we live in an age where for a few hundred bucks you can log onto a website at a "game preserve" in texas and shoot and kill your choice of "exotic" game via a high powered rifle that is controlled by the user over the internet. For an extra fee you can have the head of the animal mounted and mailed to you.THAT should be illegal
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